Day 3 Trevi to Poreta and a visit to Borgo della Marmotta

So, with the bustle of activity that was the Black Celery Festival increasing, we reluctantly departed from Trevi on our way to the village of Poreta and our stay for the evening, the lovely agriturismo Borgo della Marmotta. Unfortunately we did not get any pictures of us leaving Trevi through the meandering streets of the town. This in part is due to the fact that we almost photobombed a film crew filming a reenactment of medieval actors dressed as soldiers , noblemen and ladies coming down one of the steep streets! Timing could not have been poorer as half of us were standing where they wanted to go and half of us were hanging back to watch the spectacle. Needless to say this totally screwed everything up until the director, looking at us who were hanging back motioned frantically and said quietly but urgently Vai! Vai! (Go! Go!). So, we beat feet and got the hell out of there. As we left town the Sunday bells calling Mass were ringing to the church we were passing:

This is one of the reasons that I love through hiking so much there are just times that because of the slower pace one has the opportunity to experience places in a way that sometimes is almost surreal. This morning was one of those times.

As we moved up into the foothills the sky cleared for a clearer view of the Arno River Valley.

It was the beginning of the Olive Harvest so farmers were out with their equipment.

As always there were steep parts to the trail and at one point we hiked past Eremo di Uccelli or “Hermitage of the Birds” a walled bird sanctuary devoted to St. Francis, who, if I haven’t mentioned it previously, is also the patron saint of Italy.

We ran into what appeared to be a bus load of people who had come to tour the Hermitage and then hike down the hill. Just looking at them as they were coming down, several, based on their footwear, I don’t think were anticipating hiking on steep, graveled, mountain trails LOL.

We finally reached the highest part of the hike…Why is there always a highest part of the hike? I think the only time I haven’t had a highest part of a hike was four years ago when Rich and I hiked the I&M canals and only then because boats, mules and mountains don’t mix LOL.

So we started down and I mean down.

But just because we were heading down did not mean that we were not entertained by nearby sites, such as a pair of pigs lying along the fence next to our path.

We also saw an interesting structure that we could not decide whether it was an old castle or a prison.

While we were heading downhill, it was a long way down hill but we were able to look back and see the Eremo di Uccelli bird sanctuary that we had hiked by along with most of our trek back to Trevi.

Soldiering on for what seemed an eternity (I always hate the last mile of a hike, I’m tired, my feet usually hurt, and I have usually had as much fun as I can stand for a given day LOL)

We finally got to Poreta

From this point we thought we knew where we were going but fortunately a lady who appeared to be a local was walking by and I asked “Dove la Borgo della Marmotta?” (Where is the Borgo Della Marmotta) to which she replied in clear unaccented American style English “Oh it’s down this road about another quarter mile on your right” LOL

The Agriturismo was lovely.

This property was everything we could have hoped for and more. A resort and apparently a very popular wedding venue in the area, we were actually the last overnight guests for the season until they reopen at Easter. They bottle their own olive oil on the estate and in 2018 if I read the Italian correctly the oil received a gold medal as one of the best olive oils in thew world!

Now for those of you who have followed me over the years, you know that I only rarely post a picture of myself. But, Stephen caught a nice shot of me after a shower and a nap showing that I can bounce back quickly.

After relaxing on the property in their lounge and lawn, we were treated to an amazing meal, again. After we had placed our order the waiter brought out to each of us a bowl with a green hockey puck shaped mass that looked like a line jello salad topped with pancetta and surrounded with a bright red tomato sauce. “Che cosa?” I asked and got the reply chef’s treat, zucchini flan. Zucchini flan!?! Well suffice it to say it was delicious, absolutely amazing blend of flavors the zucchini, tomatoes parmesan and bacon creating a carnival for the tongue.

Next post will be our last leg from Poreta to Spoleto. For now Ciao!

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